Theme Park Apprentice 5: Challenge 1

Dark rides have a huge history within theme parks. They are notable for their ability to convey some extensive stories in a ride form. This challenge will comprise of creating a slow moving indoor amusement park ride, where the vehicles will travel through a selected number of scenes.

In your proposal, be sure to include the name of the attraction, specs, details, and anything else that will help to promote your proposal.

The deadline for posting is June 8th at midnight, website time.

Comments in chronological order. Most recent at the bottom. Scroll down to respond.

DISCLAIMER: Yes, I know this ride is very similar to Snow White’s Scary Adventures. I borrowed certain concepts from it and made them original as possible. I did not copy SWSA and put new clothing on it. One reason why these similarities occur is that both of these stories were written by the Brothers Grimm. End of discussion.

Ever since the beginning of Disneyland with the early Fantasyland attractions, dark rides have always been used to recreate some of Disney’s most famous fairy tale films. This attraction will mark the first time Disney is using the classic Fantasyland dark ride to retell a story that (as of now) has not been depicted in a “Disneyfied version”. It will be located in Grimm, the Bavarian village section of the park.

Scene 1: Façade/Queue/Load Area: Set in a “gingerbread”/Gothic style (see photo for example) show building that blends in with the Bavarian village, the ride’s queue is covered, but not fully enclosed (see Disneyland’s Peter Pan or Snow White). Much like the other Fantasyland dark rides, there is a large mural at the loading area which shows Hansel and Gretel’s father escorting the two children into the forest while their mother (who was really the witch) watches from afar. From here guests will board ride vehicles similar Pinocchio’s and Snow White’s except it has candy décor on the sides and front. The vehicle passes through a tunnel made by trees and into the actual ride.

Scene 2: The Scary Forest: The vehicle passes through a haunted forest in which trees with menacing faces point at the riders (some of these trees are going to be AA’s instead of static props), bats circle over rider’s heads (mobile with wind effects to make it look like they are messing up the riders’ hair) and spiders drop from the ceiling. In the course of this chaos, we see Hansel and Gretel holding on to each other for dear life.

Scene 3: “The Calm before the Storm”: After escaping the mayhem, the vehicles roll into a brighter more tranquil part of the forest with birds singing, a babbling brook and a clear blue sky. The smells of chocolate, cinnamon and peppermint waft through the air as the riders are lured towards the famous gingerbread house and go inside.

Scene 4: Inside the Gingerbread House: Once inside the gingerbread house, we see Hansel and Gretel helping themselves to a gluttonous feast of junk food. Here, the vehicles marvel at the candy details in every nook and cranny of the house before passing by Hansel and Gretel’s mother peeking her head out of a door.

Scene 5: The Witch’s Chambers: The vehicles go into a secret room in which “Mother” lures the vehicles to come closer before she reveals herself to be a wicked witch. This effect is similar to the bride in the Haunted Mansion as she starts aging and turning into the witch.

Scene 6: The Witch’s Kitchen: Here we see the Witch cooking up a recipe to eat not just Hansel and Gretel, but the riders as well. This scene will be full of her killer kitchen equipment, utensils and ingredients aimed at the vehicle.

Scene 7: The Witch’s Dungeon: From here, we pass into her torture chamber in which Hansel is locked up in a birdcage and Gretel is chained to the wall crying for help. Throughout the room, you also see some of the witch’s previous victims (or at least their remains) who have been turned to gingerbread or eaten by the witch.

Scene 8: Furnace Finale: The ride’s finale will feature a giant hell-like oven with the witch standing on top yelling “Nibble, Nibble little mouse, I’ll show you what happens when you mess with my house!”. This room will possibly feature fire effects or blasts of hot air as the vehicle rolls towards the oven’s gaping jaws (it will resemble a face) as the witch cackles in delight. As the oven doors open, the vehicles roll out back safe and sound into the unload area.

If you thought Disney went too far with Alien Encounter, Snow White’s Scary Adventures or any other scary rides, those will seem like child’s play to this one. Not only will this ride a boundary pusher for Disney in retelling a story they haven’t fully adapted yet through a modern Fantasyland dark ride, but will also show how far Disney can go to create a frightening attraction.

PitchIn 1483 Richard the Duke of York was given care of the young king Edward V and his brother Richard in anticipation of his upcoming coronation. After being placed in the tower of London for their protection, they disappeared… a mystery that has lead to the eyes of suspicion falling to their uncle, who took the throne as Richard the Third. The truth however is stranger than fiction.

This Dark, Dark Ride is aimed at older children, teenagers and families.

NB: Bear in mind there are two “Richard”s in this tale… Richard the Prince, and the man that became Richard III. Richard III is not scene in the show, just referred to… or is he?

Exterior/Loading

Location: Elizabethia

On one side of a large water feature in the park, guests, and an actor in their teens (Edward was actually 12, but for this story he’ll be forced-aged into mid to late teens) will board the boat in the midst of a smaller tower, and cell area (the queue snaking through this).

The Cell area contains a number of posters setting up the situation. Announcements for the Coronation of King Edward are covered by announcements of the coronation of Richard III; London Gazzette posters mention the disipearance of Edward and his brother, and strange happenings at the tower.

The boat (seating 16) makes a low progression over the water to a façade that resembles the tower of London as it faces the river Thames. The boat drifts into “trators gate”, where the boat reaches the dock and is met by several actors playing Beefeaters.

Beyond the Gate

The Captain of the guard reads out a list of crimes against the state, when the actor speaks up. He identifies himself as King Edward, and proclaims the innocence of those on the boat. The Captain laughs, tells him he recognises only Richard’s authority, and that he will be joining his brother soon enough. (its left ambigious as to whether its Richard III, or Edwards brother he is referring too)

The spectacle is designed to distract the riders as the water level slightly drains from the area, resting the boat on a large cylinder containing a fast elevator. The head guard gives the final sentence, and the boat rapidly drops down the elevator a storey or two, reaching a ramp where the boat slides down, and onto the start of the dark schenes.

Scene 1

The first scene is a stereotypical dungeon, with cells and condemned people in dishevelled states in various stages of becoming undread creatures. The Jailer, at his desk looks up at the boat as it arrives

“Ah good, we’ve been expecting you. Welcome to the tower, the last home traitors such as yourself will ever know. I am of course the Warden”

“Ah yes, ‘King’ Edward. I believe your brother is waiting for you in the next room. Well, I best not keep him waiting…”, the boat slides into the next scene.

Scene 2

The next room contains more cells, a female figure with her head placed on a chopping block (with an executioner making practice swings with an ax), and a spectral nobles child, about 12

“Ah, Brother” the child says ominously “You’re here at last. This is my friend Anne Boleyn. It seems she was the Queen of England, but I don’t remember learning about her Husband, Henry VIII, do you?”

“What is going on here Richard?”

“It is a bit of a mystery. It seems that the tower isn’t just a tower, but contains the soul of everyone who ever was, and ever will be, sent here… all existing at the same time. Spurned by the country that birthed us… Called “Criminals” and “Trators”… But, I have a plan, we will get our revenge on those who wronged us. The Boat begins to move again and reaches a slide, the room blacks out as it reaches the slide, and a sound of an Ax slicing something (perhaps a neck) can be heard….

Scene 3

The boat slides into a pitch black room as Edward calls out "Richard, I know you can't have planned this on your own"

"Too right brother" booms Richard back "You see, in this place we have access to all of those labeled "traitors" by our great Kingdom. Consider this man" (A third of the room lights up) "They say he's the only man to ever enter Parliament with honest intentions, can you believe it? This "Guy Fawkes" would blow up that den of sin and debauchery… His reward? A swift and brutal death… How unfair.

Or this lady here" Another section lights up "a brilliant schemer, they call her Mary, Queen of Scots. Her Crime? Only to try to unite the two thrones of this island… The sad thing is, with her death and eventually that of her sister, she succeeded.

Or this lady, Jane Grey." Final section lights up "Queen for Nine days, betrayed by her Privy Council before she could have her coronation. What greater treason can there be but to execute your lawful queen?"

"But how brother" calls out Edward "How can you bring all of these people together, some of whom who've not yet lived?"

Richard laughs "I'll show you", and the boat slides into Scene 4

Scene 4

Scene 4 looks like a scene from hell, where the River styx meets the ride channel, all sorts of famous criminals from across all time

Richards voice booms “The tower links in direct to the underworld… feeding from here its nexus… The Raw power of hell and the support of sata himself ensures our victory…. Power that comes deep from the heart of the 9th level of hell itself

“That’s it” shouts King Edward “We must go in deeper, and shatter the link to our world from the centre of hell itself”

The IntervalThe boat heads into a dark tunnel, where the water seems to get faster, and the water rougher… Light flashes of on the tunnel walls suggest fast motion through hell itself. Think of the scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where the boat sails throughout the tunnel, and you're most of the way there.

Scene 5

Tthe boat seems to take a twisty course, before sliding down into a chamber with a throne on the right of the boat that could be the throne room for Satan himself… with Edward sitting in the thone. “So Brother, you made it at last. Will you join with me and take revenge on the land that spurned us?

“No, I will protect my land, my kingdom…. Even if I lie forgotten”. Richard leaps out of the boat where a large shiny gem is placed inside a satanic looking machine. Large grounding sounds follow, and dust starts falling from the roof, suggesting that the cavern is collapsing on itself “Nooo!” shouts Edward in the typical Thwarted-Villan style, and a bright spotlight appears through an opening in the roof above the boat (suggesting a divine rescue….)

ExteriorAn elevator, placed under the boat lifts the boat outside, into an abandoned water/timber mill. The boat slides out of the mill, into the patk’s predominant water feature, but in a section that suggests some sort of spooky wood, before returning to the original station, where a pardon is read by a guard clearing the guests of the crimes alleged earlier "in the name of the true king".

Variation

On Doctor Who themed weekends, an altered version of the show seemingly randomly plays. Edward is replaced with "The Doctor", with Richard replaced with "The Master", and the script altered to reflect their relationship. There is no way for guests to know before boarding if their particular run will be the Doctor Who variation (or which version of the Doctor will appear), providing guests with a pleasant, unpredictable surprise.

The Land before time is a dark ride revealed for the brand new LucasArts Studios theme park. It is a Dark Ride that uses the moving theatre vehicles, (similar to that of Ellen’s Energy Adventure in EPCOT) and transports guests through the world of Littlefoot and his friends as they seek the Great Valley and avoid the dreaded sharptooth!LOADING/PRE RIDEThe building is faux stone affair with primordial looking plants growing around the perimeter, once inside; guests will queue in a theatre where Ducky and Petri will regale them of the tale of Littlefoot and the Sharptooth. There will be 2 large screens in the walls, one each side of the theatre, One for Ducky and the other for Petri. The characters will tell the story of the first (and only Lucasfilm credited movie from the franchise) in their own unique ways, complete with Ducky’s “Yep yep yep” and Petri’s broken English. Once the story is told, the doors will open and Ducky and Petri will urge you to hurry up as there is Another Sharptooth and it is heading for the Great Valley! We must warn them, yep yep yep. Inside are 4 large moving Theatre Cars, each capable of seating 48 passengers, although all 4 cars are identical they are names Littlefoot, Ducky, Spike and Cera. Petri, being a flyer won’t need to walk this journey! Once seated, the Lights will dim and Petri will warn you that “The Sharptooth is near!” The cars will start to leave the theatre (incidentally, the theatre will a 360 cinema that will show a Jurassic environment on all sides, a retractable screen will move back to allow the cars to move into the first scene)SCENE 1

The first scene is really simple, the screen you travelled through shows a water fall, mist will be spraying down to give the feeling of water and all of a sudden you’re out, deep fog covers the ground, the scene is a fully constructed jungle, full of greenery and trees, with that humidity one associates with rain forests. As the vehicles pass the largest tree on its left, Petri appears (animatronic) and bids you welcome to this, their secret paradise, but he urges you not to stay too long, that Sharptooth is not far away! The vehicles continue through the scene, with animatronic dinosaurs dotted around, all of them are young, no adults are allowed in the Paradise as you find out from Cera who is sitting on a rock “Keeping guard, ready to ram that big old Sharptooth” when he comes. As we round the rock, the mist thickens and Littlefoot’s voice can be heard, although not seen, it appears he has found a shortcut to the Great Valley, through this cave…..

SCENE 2As the ride vehicles pass into the second scene, water can be heard dripping, and it is much darker and colder here, Littlefoot’s head appears on a screen above and to the left of the vehicles, (this scene uses specially made film, no animatronics) perched on his head Petri stands, with a shell from an Acorn on his head as a Shield. “Hmm, Dark, scary, Petri will stand guard….But not on his my own!” he exclaims. Littlefoot hurries everyone along and although the scenery here is made to look like a cave, the cars are in fact turning round to move onto the next scene. Along with the cave décor, rocks and the dripping water, the walls are all 360 degree cinema screens. We watch as Littlefoot and Spike wander off through the cave, with us seemingly keeping up, but suddenly a roar can be heard and Littlefoot and Petri race off ahead leaving the cars behind as light starts to filter through the next door Cera calls us and tells us to hurry, a portion of the screen lifts up and the vehicles all follow through into another panoramic animatronic scene.

SCENE 3The Mammoths Graveyard is where we have exited to. Animatronic Cera is walking behind the few bushes (the head is moving along on a track parallel to the cars, it starts when car 2 reaches and moves slowly until the last car passes where it bobs down and resets. A fully Animatronic Cera is seen standing between a mammoths ribs where it complains that she is warrior and should not be left babysitting the guests. As the cars follow the graveyard around, we find spike and Ducky sitting by a small pool of water, Ducky is happy to see us and says Spike is as well yep yep yep, but In truth Spike is far more interested in eating the grass around the pool, with his back to us, we can just see his tail swinging back and forwards happily, with his satisfied sounds of munching playing out. Suddenly from behind, at the start of the scene, we hear a roar and Cera screams. Littlefoot's voice once more urges us to hurry, The Sharptooth has caught up! The cars move off a little quicker and as we move through the graveyard, the cars start to shake, gently at first but getting stronger. (This effect is caused by the seats vibrating, although they can be turned off by the operator if requested on the last 2 rows of each car)As we near the end of the scene, the far wall is once again a cinema screen that shows the oncoming shadow of Sharptooth but our brave adventurers just manage to escape his jaws as we pass into the next scene.

SCENE 4, now we are on the side of a mountain, the cinema screens are back with the lower half being covered by scenery designed to look like the sides of a volcano to the right, to the left is a river of lava (water with yellow and red lights to complete the effect) this scene is hotter and has a dry arid smell, not pleasant but not over powering either. Our faithful companions stick with us on the screen as we march along the river of lava, being reminded that Sharptooth doesn’t like fire so we should be safe. As we move along, the river disappears under a series of rocks and the end of the scene can be seen. The screen at the end shows a narrow bridge that we must cross, but again, the tremors are back, but this time, the Volcano has started to erupt! As the cars pass through the screen, the river starts to bubble the screen to the right shows a steady stream of lava gaining on the cars as we pass into the final scene. As the cars pass through the Sharptooth roars but cannot follow us as the lava has barred its path! Littlefoot and the others cheer as we pass though the final scene.

SCENE 5The Great Valley is once again safe (although for how long?) Another fully fabricated scene, back again are the mists, warm humidity and several animatronic dinosaurs can be seen, with many more silhouetted as in the distance on the walls. The cars all move forward to stop by a large lake and sit, 2x2, where the wall reveals a screen and our faithful friends all appear. Petri, still perched on Littlefoot’s head remarks “Adventure worthy of another story!” and Ducky adds a typical “yep yep yep” as Littlefoot thanks you for your help (despite the fact you didn’t really do much as Cera points out) Littlefoot shows you a path you may walk down to back to your own time, the doors slide open and on the way out there is a chance for you to stand in front of a blue screen and get your photo taken with all of the gang or any of them individually.

So, a Land before time, the ride. It is based, as you can guess at children. The ride time from pre-show to debark is about 9 minutes. With 48 guests per sitting, and two theatres moving at any one time, that’s a footfall of around 500 per hour. Not exactly earth shattering I know, but enough to get a fair number of people through.As I said at the start the theatre cars are similar to those in the Energy Adventure ride in EPCOT (don’t forget, this IS a Disney park, despite the LucasFilm name)It is worth noting that Lucasfilm ARE credited with this film, although they were not at the time but it is on their filmography.

If you have never seen this film, then I urge you to do so, the best way I can describe it is Bambi but with dinosaurs. There is a plethora of merchandise than can be sold in an adjoining shop. Stuffed toys, DVD’s, Key chains, T-Shirts, mugs, pens, pencils. It really is an ideal choice for a Dark ride in a theme park. It ticks all the boxes, popular characters, easy spin off merchandise, Different if not Unique ride. The idea of mixing ‘Live’ and ‘movie’ is not an old method but consider that Lucasfilm also have ILM under their umbrella, they have been the leading name in puppets and animatronics for thirty years, and they were the parent company of Pixar, it made sense to combine the two. Well, that’s it. I really grew to like the idea of this ride; it has made me go back and watch the film again and reminded me what a great and moving film it was.

Exterior: The building is located at the center of the land. There is a city around it, but far away. In the immediate area, it is completely decimated.

Line/loading: The line has several televisions, showing footage "from" the war and the occupation of the west coast. The line is themed as a military base, from the retaking operation during the war. The vehicles are jeep shaped trackless vehicles. The ride is trackless.

Scene 1: The general, John Harper, explains what the operation will be. The ride vehicles will follow the main convoy, which will go from the base, and then try and take LA, and then the rest of the west coast. (The convoys include AA characters, and drive in front of the ride vehicles)

Scene 2: This is a scene that shows the landscape of the west. It is bare, irradiated, and inhospitable. The AA convoy stops.

Scene 3: The first firefight. Several new vehicles pop up, and then guns begin to fire. Multiple cars explode. The ride vehicles run off to try and complete their mission, with the raiders in pursuit.

Scene 4: The jeeps are being chased by the raiders. Twists and turns are employed liberally.

Scene 5: Another chase scene. The AAs that are left shoot out an oil tanker, which explodes.

Scene 6: We finally arrive in LA. The jeeps begin to find Chinese soldiers, and a fight ensues. This is the longest scene, which stretches into a chase scene. LA is completely destroyed, with very few buildings.

Scene 7: Another fight/chase scene, more explosions. More death.

Scene 8; The city is recaptured. A job well done, although many are dead, and LA is no place to live in, at least for now.

EXIT: Second exit. It's in a building that opens in LA, from scene 8. Exit into the land.

Quest through the Stars - Embark on an epic adventure through space, hosted by StarGuiders, an organization dedicated to giving educational tours of space to the public.

Quest through the Stars is a slow moving dark-ride located in a sub-land of Uncharted Adventures' "Space" called "Mars Base". The ride has no height restriction, but may produce sights and sounds that could be scary to young children. A single-rider line is available.

Ride Technology - The ride uses the same technology as E.T. Adventure at Universal Studios Florida. Of course, modern enhancements have been made, such as adding more motion to the vehicles, more comfortable seating, etc. The ride vehicle itself still looks very similar, as StarGuiders did not want to restrain guests to feeling like they are enclosed in some spaceship. They wanted to ensure that guests feel as if they are truly the ones exploring the unknowns of space.

Each and every show room is a curved all the way around and has HD imagery projected all around, in order to achieve an effect that guests are in never-ending space.

Facade - Guests will approach the StarGuiders HQ, a glass dome-like structure that rests upon tall, red jagged rocks. Where the rocks end, the glass dome begins; giving the appearance the glass dome is supported by the rocks themselves. Just in front of the HQ are two shiny, grey obelisks with the StarGuiders logo on them. Embedded high into the rocky facade is the word "StarGuiders". The sign is large, and twinkles, just like stars do. Once guests pass through the two obelisks, they will be standing directly in front of the large structure that serves as the HQ, and will see the ride's entrance. The entrance to the attraction is directly under the sign(s) themselves. The actual entrance is a large metallic doorway built right into the rock, which takes guests directly into the ride's queue.

Queue - Guests enter the main lobby of the StarGuiders HQ, a rotund room with the dome-shaped glass ceiling. The floor is pure marble, and the round StarGuiders logo extends all across the floor. In the center of the room is a massive, rotating model of our solar system. A long, thin screen extends along the wall, all the way around the room, which displays the departure times of the next tours into the galaxy. The queue wraps around the large room multiple times before branching off down a long, blue light lit hallway. Hanging from the ceiling of the hallway are screens which show a promotional video for StarGuiders and what their mission is. At the end of the hall, are three doors. The doors emit a red glow, but when the color changes to green, the door slides open, and a Team Member ushers an appropriate amount of guests into the pre-show room.

Pre-Show - Guests will enter a large, metallic room. The walls, floor and ceiling are chrome, and have no distinguishable features, besides a large screen which encompasses most of the farthest wall. The room has a faint green glow to it. Once all guests are in the room, the glow fades away and the room becomes pitch black and the screen cuts on, revealing the President of StarGuiders.

StarGuiders President - "Hello travelers. I see you have chosen StarGuiders to act as your interstellar tour guide, rather than *cough* Planets and Beyond *cough*. Ahem, please excuse me, I think I've got a cold... Anyways, what you are about to embark on will be a relaxing journey through the vast heavens, something that will be both educational and entertaining. I mean, you have managed to make it here to Mars Base, so how bad can this be? Your tour guide will take you through our solar system, through an asteroid belt, past a star, and even further into the galaxy. Please make sure that you're prepared for this journey, by ensuring that you're not prone to sudden noises, bright lights, or being exposed to the inner-depths of space. And don't worry about lack of oxygen. We've taken the CXgen technology used throughout Mars Base, and applied it to our seats. You will literally be absorbing oxygen through your skin, thanks to our seats! Now, you better get to The Departure Center, you don't want to miss the next tour!"

The screen cuts off, leaving the room in the dark. A door soon opens (right under the screen) and a bright light emits from it. A Team Member soon emerges and ushers guests into the loading area.

Loading Area - Guests emerge from the pre-show room into a large room dubbed, "The Departure Center". The room is once again mostly chromatic, with arches and columns that support the ceiling. A pulsating red glow dominates the room. On the wall opposite of where guests are loaded into the ride vehicles is a beautiful mural depicting all of our solar system's planets. Team Members can load three ride vehicles at once, and can unload two at a time. Once guests are in the vehicle, the vehicle will move forward. A large, metallic doorway with caution strips on the sides will split open, allowing the ride vehicle to pass through into the first scene.

Main Ride

Scene One - The ride vehicle passes through the large metallic doors and into an industrial looking room. Different gadgets line the floors and ceiling, and another pair of doors remain closed in front of the ride vehicle. The doors behind the vehicle close, leaving guests "trapped" in the small room. The floor is raised in this room, to give the impression that guests are still on the ground and not yet zero-gravity.The narrator's voice comes over riders.

Narrator - "Welcome to the beginning of your journey through space. This is the teleportation chamber. It will transport you from here, the surface of Mars, into the atmosphere. This is required since your vehicle cannot break through Mars' atmosphere on it's own..."

The entire room begins to shake and a red light cuts on, and flashes around the room. The rest of the lights in the room continuously dim and then get brighter. Soon the shaking stops, and all of the lights cut back on. The vehicle slowly moves forward and the doors in front of riders emit steam as they begin to slide open. In front of riders appears the infinite depths of space. Before the vehicle moves completely into the first scene, the narrator comes back on.

Narrator - "Welcome to Space."

Scene Two - The ride vehicle completely leaves the teleportation chamber and now appears to be floating through the depths of space. The room is one giant sphere that serves as a massive screen. HD projection is used to project images of stars, galaxies and distant planets all around riders, completely immersing them in space. The vehicle continues to move through the room as the narrator comes on.

Narrator - "This is your first encounter in space. Nothing too interesting at first glance, but if you look up towards your right, you can see the Milky Way... Oh, look to your upper left, you can The Little Dipper..." *narrator continues to point things out in the galaxy to riders* ... "We are actually moving at light speed right now. It doesn't seem so fast, but that's due to how infinitely deep space is. And of course the technology used on this thing your sitting in, hehe."

The ride vehicle makes a slow right turn and passes through into the next scene.

Scene Three - The vehicle emerges into the next room, which is once again a spherical room which uses HD projection technology to project images of space all around riders. In the top left "corner" is a giant, rotating, round "piece" of Saturn that is an actual set piece. The image of the rest of Saturn is continued with the projection technology. A use of fog and projection technology is used to simulate Saturn's rings. Following suit of the actual planet, projections on the screens continue the image of the rest of Saturn's rings. The ride vehicle approaches the physical Saturn set piece and the rings.

Narrator - "Saturn. Isn't it beautiful? Saturn is one of the largest planets in our Solar System, in case you couldn't tell. The planet itself is characterized as being a "gas giant", in that it is composed primarily of gases. The rings around the planet are what really make it special though. Like I said, it is definitely a very beautiful planet."

The ride vehicle turns left, away from Saturn and into the next show scene.

Scene Four - The ride vehicle makes it's way into the next show room, which follows suit of the previous ones in that it is rounded and uses HD projection technology to immerse guests into a space environment. When guests look directly down in this scene, they will see the top of a massive rotating Jupiter below them. This is an actual physical set piece, and not a projection. To the lower right of the room, guests can see the top of a rotating set piece that is one of Jupiter's many moons. Once again, the images of Jupiter and the moon are continued with the use of HD projection technology.

Narrator - "As you can see, we are now flying above Jupiter. Do you see that red spot? It has been nicknamed "Jupiter's Eye" and is actually a hurricane that has been going on for millions of years, and it's stronger than anything that the Earth could produce. Jupiter, like Saturn, is also a gas giant. Pretty cool huh? Jupiter also has rings like Saturn does, but they are not as distinguishable. One of the most well known things about Jupiter is that it's the largest planet in our Solar System. It may not look like it from here, but that's because we are currently flying thousands of miles above Jupiter, and even then, it still looks pretty massive!"

Scene Five - Asteroids fill this room, as the ride vehicle moves around what seems like thousands of asteroids. Actual set piece asteroids were built all around the ride track, and appear to be suspended in space. They even rotate and move around like something truly would in space. The HD projection screens all around riders are still present, but project images of asteroids, in order to make the field of asteroids seem never ending. The ride vehicle moves dangerously close to some of the asteroids.

Narrator - "Ah yes, the asteroid belt. Don't be stressed about this part of the tour, we promise that you won't hit anything. Anyways, these are, well, floating chunks of rock in space. Yes, I said it. And the asteroid belt is one massive gathering of them, which is what we are in right now. Quite interesting actually."

Scene Six - The ride vehicle approaches a very large bright star. The star is a massive spherical set piece, which has images projected onto it to make it appear as if its truly a mass of swirling fire and gases. Real fire effects occasionally shoot out of the star. Once again, the room is rounded and uses HD projection technology to simulate space around guests. Heat effects take place in this room, due to the guest's proximity to the sun. The vehicle travels closer to the edges of the room, and this time the ride vehicle takes a different approach by rotating 90 degrees in order to give a better view of the star.

Narrator - "This is Alpha Centauri. The closest star to us besides our Sun. Alpha Centauri is actually a star system composed of three separate stars, but this is Alpha Centauri A. Notice that the sun emits waves of fire. We are at a safe enough distance that we won't get hurt, but you can definitely feel the heat. Alpha Centauri A contains 110% the mass and 151.9% the luminosity of our sun..."

The ride vehicle moves away from Alpha Centauri and a burst of light is used to transition into the next scene.

Scene Seven - The ride vehicle emerges into a beautiful starry setting. All around riders are beautiful masses of stars and planets, all managing to form what seems like a painting in space. The vehicle continues along straight track. At far end of the room is another teleportation chamber, seemingly suspended in space.

Narrator - "Space. It's never ending and it's beautiful. It's the true final frontier. I hope you have enjoyed your adventure into the unknown that is space with StarGuiders. You will be guided into this teleportation chamber, the furthest we have. It will transport you back to the StarGuiders HQ at Mars Base. Goodbye!"

The vehicle slowly moves into the chamber, and the doors close behind it. It goes through a similar sequence as before. The doors in front of the ride vehicle open and guests find themselves back in The Departure Center, where they will be unloaded and will be guided down a long hallway which will lead them back outside to Mars Base at Uncharted Adventures' "Space".

This boat-based dark ride, located in the Argossean Harbor section of the parks Hyboria region, invites adventurous guests to join Robert E. Howard’s infamous Conan the Cimmerian in his exploits in piracy. Borrowing characters, scenes and elements from the Howard tales Queen of the Black Coast, Shadows in the Moonlight, The Devil in Iron and Beyond the Black River this attraction uses cutting edge audio animatronics, large-scale effects and immersive environments to bring its harrowing story to life as riders embark on a thrilling voyage from Argos to the mysterious Black Coast on a quest for treasures untold in the darkest regions of Hyboria.

Unlike most water bound dark rides where the effects and animation operate on a constant loop, Raiders of the Black Coast uses an advanced ride system that allows for each boat to experience every scene and gag individually. The scenes are triggered by an unseen mechanism that each boat passes over and each individual element automatically resets once the boat has passed and the scene in question is out of sight. Think of this as a more modern and larger-scale take on the way the Jurassic Park River Adventure works at Universal - where each boat witnesses the various pop gags and attacking dinosaurs without the effect being ruined for the following boat.

Queue - the alleyways of Argos

As we traverse the alleyways of an Argossean port city (basically the Hyborian version of ancient Mediterranean civilization) we see wanted posters for Conan the Cimmerian - chief of the Red Brotherhood (a feared pirate crew from the Vilayet Sea) and Belit - pirate Queen of the Black Coast and chief of the Reavers (a rival pirate crew) among other rogues and villains.

The queue passes underneath an elevated foot bridge where two animatronic Argossean guards are posted. The guards discuss rumors about the recent rash of piracy in the region and the capture of Conan. The rumors surrounding his arrest differ greatly as one guard claims that it took 27 armed men to bring him in while the other attests that he was apprehended while passed out drunk at a tavern.

The queue continues, crossing over a waterway where gondolas and barges lazily float through the city, and descending a slope into what appears to be a bad part of town, infested with huge rats. Guests pass a tavern, the doorman snoring drunkenly. Through a window a backroom can be seen where several salty looking members of the Red Brotherhood discuss a plan to break Conan out of the city dungeons and travel down the Black Coast to a ruined city supposedly filled with untold riches. The shiftiest of the bunch also points out that their destination is also home to untold danger.

The queue finally winds its way down to the canal and to a shadowy launch where cast members dressed in the garb of the Red Brotherhood help guests board leaky long boats that appear questionably seaworthy.

Scene 1 - the alleyways of Argos (continued)

The boat silently cruises along the canal through the darkened city, passing under foot bridges and past torch bearing guards who appear to be searching for boats. Just as a pair of guards spies your craft and begins to shout out, two pirates of the Red Brotherhood rise up behind them, covering their mouths and pulling them out of view. A pirate with a red turban obscuring his face, brandishing a huge blood-stained curved sword appears around a corner, a guard lying still at his feet. The pirate begs us to be quiet and directs us to a secret entrance to the city dungeons.

Scene 2 - the secret tunnel

The boat continues into a dark tunnel through a mouth fashioned to look like a great stone bird. Up ahead a light can be seen as a torch flickers, illuminating a rusted portcullis blocking the tunnel. As the vessel comes closer to the apparent dead end we see another pirate - spindly and grizzled - struggling with a large chain. “This way!” he growls through gritted teeth, as he manages one mighty pull and the portcullis lurches up, letting the boats pass into the pitch black passage beyond. Just as we clear the opening the gate comes crashing down directly behind the boat and we continue into darkness.

Scene 3 - the spiders cave

Through the pitch black secret tunnel we emerge in a dank cave. Water leaks out of cracks in the walls and thick spider webs cling to everything. Human remains can be seen suspended, mummy-like in the copious webbing and a cold wind blows from somewhere deep in the caverns. Another pirate appears in a cave mouth on the small rocky bank to the right of the boat, torch in hand. He calls to us:

“Psst! You there! The dungeons are up ahead. Stay your course and…”

A creepy scuttling sound can be clearly heard and eight glowing red eyes appear in the yawning black opening behind the pirate, who looks vaguely concerned.

“You hear that?”

With a yelp the pirate is violently yanked back into the darkness. The eyes disappear and frightful sounds can be heard along with his screams.

Suddenly large black spiders descend from the webs on the ceiling, coming uncomfortably close to the boat… and us! We take a corner, parallel with another large cave mouth. We see the red eyes again and a moment later a monstrous arachnid - easily five times the size of the spiderlings attacking from above - lunges at the boat from the darkness! We can feel hot breath and the poisonous spray from its giant fangs as we barely escape its grasp and continue our course through a broken metal gate and into the dungeon tunnels.

Scene 4 - jail break!

The prison passage is not much more inviting than the spider infested cave - a claustrophobic stone tunnel dripping with algae and slime with barred cells on either side. The cells in this part of the dungeon are occupied only by the occasional skeleton and it looks as if none among the living have been down here in some time. The sounds of torture can be heard echoing from somewhere in the distance.

The boat ascends a ramp with flickering torches affixed to the walls on either side, entering another tunnel, this one slightly larger and better traversed. The cells in this section are occupied by various rogues from not only Argos but the far regions of Hyboria. The inmates call out to us, begging and bartering to be freed. As the boat takes a turn, a black hooded prison guard spies us and sounds the alarm. Bells chime loudly, echoing through the stone passageways and far off unintelligible shouting can be heard along with the sounds of fighting.

We come upon a scene where Red Brotherhood pirates are in the midst of fending off more of the hooded guards. One pirate uses a large battle axe to break open a cell, freeing Conan himself who addresses us - telling us that they will take care of the guards and that the only way out is through the ancient crumbling aqua duct ahead. The plan is to rendezvous at the Red Brotherhood’s ship and head down the Black Coast.

We see the opening ahead that will serve as our escape route - fashioned out of stone to look like the head of a giant, The canal flowing into his yawning maw. On top of the great stone head a pirate struggles with a prison guard, making the already crumbling structure shake violently. The boats pass through the opening just as it begins to collapse and, shrouded in darkness, unexpectedly spill down a steep waterfall.

Scene 5 - the Red Brotherhood victorious!

Safely outside of the city walls, the boats float past the rocky coast as waves break violently and sea spray fills the air. Up ahead the Red Brotherhood’s ship - the Wastrel - can be seen raising its sails. Conan and his crew can be seen on the deck, plotting their course to the Black Coast. The boats round the stern of the ship and continue through a patch of dense fog.

Scene 6 - jungle ruins of the Black Coast

Emerging from the fog bank, we enter calmer waters as the boat slides into a quietly menacing jungle river. Eerie sounds can be heard all around and wisps of fog obscure what may be creatures lurking on the bank. Bright yellow eyes begin flickering in the dark underbrush and as the boat continues its serpentine course the owners of these glowing eyes emerge from the jungle - skulking hyenas, watching the passing craft, growling menacingly. Their haunting “laughs” can be heard echoing through the vegetation.

These beasts seem to watch over the entrance to a ruined citadel - a looming ruin that has already been partially reclaimed by the creeping jungle. We float into the spooky confines of the forgotten city where we see more pirates, bearing torches and searching the area. Next we enter a partially sunken shrine, its walls lined with small alcoves baring piles of skulls. Conan can be seen standing on a boulder ahead holding a sword and a torch. He looks pleased but on guard as he announces that the “legends were true” and that the Red Brotherhood has uncovered “untold treasures”.

The boat makes a sharp turn past Conan, passing under a crumbling archway and into a rotting chamber filled to the brim with sparkling treasures. Our pirate brothers are here, plundering the vault for all its worth. Two pirates struggle to pry the top off of a huge black chest carved with strange occult symbols and eerie images. Just as the boat passes they manage to get the chest open but when they do a huge fiery plume blasts out and the entire room is plunged into darkness as the ancient demon Khosatral Khel is unleashed, looming over the boat and berating us for plundering his tomb. He threatens to awaken his cursed “city of the dead”, raising its most diabolical residents and sealing our doom.

"concept art" of Khel's first appearance

The boat leaves the treasure room and enters a flooded court filled with decaying statues depicting hulking warriors. The statues loom on both sides of us, springing to life as the boat passes by and taking swings at us with their stone weapons. A huge headless statue rises up out of the water directly in front of the boat, lifting an enormous battle axe to split our vessel in half! Luckily we pass between its massive legs before the axe blade falls.

We now find ourselves in a dark hall. Conan again appears, struggling in the coils of what appears to be a gargantuan snake, hacking away at its body with his sword. He tells us that we must get out of the citadel. We hear Khel’s booming laughter echo throughout the structure as it begins to shake violently and the head of the snake explodes out of the water just to the right of the boat, striking at us violently and spitting a stream of poison. Just ahead we see a pirate being crushed to death by another of its coils.

"concept art" of Conan and the giant snake

Scene 7 - The Reavers attack

The boat escapes the flooded ruins and continues past a village that has been set ablaze! Huts and structures burn as dark skinned pirates pillage what is left of the settlement. Conan, holding the severed head of the giant snake, and a few of his surviving crewmen stand on a bank to the right. One pirate points his sword -

“Chief! The Reavers!”

As the boat makes a sharp turn past Conan’s party we see a massive ship docked at the rocky beach on the edge of the village. On the ship’s deck we can see more dark skinned pirates, faces painted as deaths heads and demons with chalky white paint, along with their Queen - the beautiful and savage Belit. She stands proud, brandishing a long saber and smiling down at us. She speaks:

“Conan! Your bravery betrays your foolishness. The Red Brotherhood will be given no quarter here. This is the Black Coast - dominion of the Reavers!”

"concept art" of Belit and the Reavers aboard their ship

Her crew lets forth a raspy cheer as cannons are fired and the boat rounds the bow of the mighty pirate ship.

We continue along a stretch of rocky beach where more huts and dwellings burn. The remains of the Red Brotherhood battle with the Reavers. On a wrecked jetty Conan and Belit cross swords and trade barbs. Belit seems to be enjoying herself, taunting the Cimmerian and assuring him that his recently acquired cursed treasure will soon be property of her crew.

As if on cue, Khel’s voice can be heard. Angry, he informs us that both pirate crews are doomed and begins chanting in an unidentified tongue.

Scene 8 - the ghost ship

The water begins to grow turbulent, cold winds begin to blow in off of the sea and lightning strikes all around. Suddenly a long-sunken ship rises from the depths before us and the boat is headed right for it! A few shadowy figures can be seen on board, their eyes glowing in the darkness.

"concept art" of the ghost ship rising from the depths

As the ship breaches the surface a massive hole in the hull can be seen directly in front of us. The boat passes through the rotting timbers and spills down a short waterfall into the decayed, seaweed lined interior of the shipwreck.

The ship’s hold is flooded and filled with mostly decomposed but very animated undead pirates. Several pop out of the water, reaching out at our boat while others fight with the pirates of the Red Brotherhood and the Reavers - now united against a common enemy.

Ahead we see Conan fighting off several undead fiends as Belit lights an enormous powder keg with a torch. A waterlogged ghoul descends on the boat from a rotting beam above just as:

BOOM! A fiery explosion propels the boat out of the ship’s stern. As we look behind we can see the shipwreck, now set afire, sinking back into the water. Ahead we can see the distant lights of a port city and closer, the docks.

Scene 9 - Khosatral Khel’s last stand

The boat enters a stone harbor with vaguely Middle Eastern architecture and residents. There are several boats and small ships docked and some of the locals are hauling crates and livestock onto the mainland. As we make a slight turn past a long pier Conan, Belit and their respective surviving crews are docking a singed longboat piled high with treasure. Belit is laughing about their victory over Khel’s ghost pirates but Conan, spying something ahead, is not yet ready to celebrate.

Khel rises over the docks. He is growing larger, his form twisting into that of a hideous demonic creature. He taunts Conan and Belit as our boat draws closer. His voice becomes deeper and more monstrous as he roars and sprouts giant black wings.

"concept art" depicting Khel in the final scene and his grotesque transformation

We pass under a low bridge into a canal that winds through a marketplace. The locals flee and take cover as the entire place shakes with Khel’s wrath.

Another bridge can be seen over the canal ahead. Conan is standing in a battle ready stance, swinging his trusty sword in figure eights as Khel - now a massive winged devil (and the largest AA creature we’ve yet seen) - rises up above the bridge, looming over us with Belit struggling in his clawed grasp.

Khel descends in an unexpectedly fast swoop, coming very close to the boat and lashing out, Conan raises his sword and as we pass under the bridge just in time. Khel’s booming screams can be heard as the boat goes down the last (and largest) drop - into darkness.

Scene 10 - a pirate’s victory

The boat glides through the black and we hear the sounds of revelry ahead. Music being played, songs being sung, laughter and merriment.

The boat takes a final turn past a scene in a dimly lit thief’s tavern. Exotic women dance, music is played by a merry band of roguish musicians, the pirates of the Red Brotherhood and the Reavers drink together. Conan and Belit sit together at a table, a pile of gold and jewels before them. They drink and sing and laugh about their adventure and the future conquests and plunder that await their newly united pirate crew.

The boats are pulled up a steep ramp and back through a short Argossean canal before returning to the loading dock.

Professor X's Mutant 101 is a slow moving dark ride in X Men Mansion that shows the different types of mutants. The ride lasts for 5 minutes.

The entrance is to the left of the courtyard at the classrooms. There isn't a themed or interactive queue, but unless it's a peak season you shouldn't be spending much time in the queue.

When you enter the classroom, the preshow begins. There are two identical preshows to increase capacity. An animatronic of Patrick Stewart's Professor X is at the front of the classroom explaining his idea to create this:

"I wanted to show students a new way to learn, and since everyone loves a good theme park ride, I thought it would be great to build one. I built several audio animatronics of actual X Men!"

After he says a few more things, the doors open and we'e led to the boarding station. The ride uses the same vehicles as Journey into Imagination with Figment at Epcot, but instead of being in red they're in gray.

Scene 1:

"Let's begin our lesson with the Omega Level Mutants. Omega mutants are immortal and have very high manipulation of matter and energy. A fine example is one of our very own X-Men, (he'll say Phoenix or Iceman)."

There are two different outcomes to this scene. If you get Phoenix, an AA of her will appear, and using telekinesis objects will move around the room. If you get Iceman, an AA of him will appear and the room will fill with ice along with a drop in temperature.

Scene 2:

"Next let's take a look at Cheyarafim. Cheyarafim are angel mutants that's fate is unknown after a war with Neyaphem. The only known Cheyarafim to survive is our very own Angel."

An AA of Angel appears and flies overhead of the riders.

Scene 3:

"Speaking of Neyaphem, that leads us to the next part of our lesson. During the holy war, Neyaphem were sent into another dimension and the only known Neyaphem is our own Nightcrawler. He's known for his power to teleport."

There are several hidden statues of Nightcrawler in the room, and when each one disappears a puff of red smoke will come.

Scene 4:

"Lupines are wolf-like mutants. Wolverine is prime example, having immortality, self-healing, sharp claws, and great sense of hearing, sight, and smell."

An AA of Wolverine is in the room, and when Professor X finishes talking, his claws appear.

Scene 5:

"While heroes are great, we have to watch out for villains also. Magneto is our main archenemy, and his known for manipulating magnetic forces."

The Magneto AA begins to pull a metal bar from the wall towards him, but instead aims at our vehicle. Professor X then says,

"This can't be right! The animatronic is malfunctioning! I have to get you guys out of here!"

Scene 6-8:

During scene's 6 and 7, Magneto chases us and destroys the rooms we're in. Damaged AAs will also appear. In scene 8, Professor X says,

"Hang on, there's an emergency exit in here! I'll have to switch the track, and when you get out I'll shut off power in the ride."

The track switches and we escape. When we reach the unloading station, Professor X shuts down power and says over the intercom,

"Thanks for taking the class. It appears I'm not ready to be manufacturing animatronics just yet. I hope you enjoy the rest of your visit atX Men mansion!"

Christopher Sturniolo: Hansel and Gretel’s Ghastly Journey gave me a greater idea of what you are expecting out of the park. I think it affirmed your decision to go in the direction of utilizing classic fairytales, while not being afraid to venture into new territory and new concepts. While it may be similar to Snow White’s Scary Adventures, you managed to create your own identity for this new dark ride. The façade sounds splendid as I am a fan of the Disneyland storybook style entrances, as opposed to the Magic Kingdom’s medieval themed entrances. The ride scenes definitely take this ride to the next level by interacting with the ride guests. The smells, tricks, and effects used are classic Disney techniques. All in all, I think the ride shows a darker side to classic tales, but does not become overly scary. I think you had just the right mix of frightening and fun to create a ride worthy of Disney dark ride history.

Chad H: The ride immediately reminds me of an English royalty themed version of Pirates of the Caribbean. The storyline was a bit confusing to me at a few parts. Some of the scenes might be a bit violent to show in a theme park, most notably the executioner room. The overall story is very ambitious, maybe a little too ambitious to have only one ride based on it. I wanted to know more about these characters, and did not feel that I got a grasp on their place within the story. However, you stayed completely original in your story creating a rich and interesting clash between two brothers.

Alan Hiscutt: I began reading this a little concerned, as I had no idea George Lucas was ever involved with the Land Before Time. However, being as he is, you definitely found a way to work this proposal to your advantage. The immersion of your Land Before Time proposal is absolutely impeccable. I felt that I was transported into a primeval world, with dinosaurs as my guides. The ride mechanism is an interesting choice, borrowing from a similarly themed Ellen’s Energy Adventure. However, you managed to avoid creating anything but a recreation of this ride. I felt the ride to be on the grand side, and could have benefited from a few more video sequences. The time of the ride just seems a little awkward to me, being only 9 minutes for a fairly massive show building.

Matt R: I think this proposal helped to shape your initial theme park idea, while it has given me a greater understanding of your direction. For future weeks, I would suggest going into a little more detail to develop a greater story. After reading your proposal, I found myself asking what the operation was that the guests are headed on. From what I gathered, it was to rescue LA from the Chinese. You honestly have the most difficult theme park in my opinion, creating a depiction of a post-apocalyptic war zone, where visitors watch war and death unfold before their eyes. I hope that there may be a light at the end of this tragic tunnel.

Bryce McGibeny: I was afraid that this ride would end up being a knock off of Star Tours. For me, Quest through the Stars managed to be everything Star Tours is not. The ride came across as a report style description of the solar system. The descriptions are certainly beautiful, but there was no wow factor that got me excited on this tour. I was waiting for a major storyline to breakthrough in the ride. I longed to see something of excitement such as actually living through the big bang and seeing the universe unfold before your eyes. Instead of reminding me of Star Tours, I was reminded more of Spaceship Earth. While the ride was beautifully designed, I just wish there was more too the story than taking a tour through the Milky Way.

Mike Kinshella: The story had everything imaginable related to a swashbuckling adventure. The story rivals Pirates of the Caribbean in the mass amount of creativity you developed for this proposal. You certainly managed to create a scary, hair raising ride that feeds off of people’s emotions. Just the thought of those spiders in Scene 4 gave me the chills. And then the escape, a further passage deeper into the storyline that leads to the mystical jungle scenes. The thrills and chills continue throughout the proposal, making it one of the most captivating and compelling proposals this week.

Dominick D: The ride definitely starts off a bit slow with the story and theming. It seemed to initially be a display of the X-men, nothing more. Your story started to take off where we got to the Magneto sequence and the chase scenes. I think the ending worked much better than the beginning. One thing that would have been nice to see is an increased manipulation of the senses. You hinted at this in the first scene, but I know that you could have pushed this further.

Okay, so I wasn't aware that the Theme Park Apprentice had a try out period, I simply saw the challenge thread and just kind of went at it. So, even though I'm not technically in the competition, I wanted to post my entry for the first challenge on the off chance that someone who has already been picked isn't able to meet the deadline for whatever reason. And if so, perhaps I could take their spot. Like I said, I wasn't really sure how it worked and I didn't want to just scrap my attraction after spending a decent amount of time on it, so...

Theme Park Apprentice #5

Dinotopia Theme Park

http://tinyurl.com/kmynmx8

A theme park based on the the novel "Dinotopia: A Land Apart From Time", and all subsequent and related sequels and ancillary novels by author/illustrator James Gurney.

There will be several distinct lands in this theme park, each of which will feature various rides, attractions, exhibits, restaurants, retail locations, and live shows and performances. The park will feature state-of-the-art technology, and will utilize renewable resources in any instance where possible.

Challenge #1: Dark Ride

"Journey to the World Beneath"

Ride Technology - Each ride vehicle will be visually unique, though they will all share roughly the same dimensions and the exact same capacity. The ride vehicles will be covered at certain times during the ride, which is necessary for the story line of the ride itself, and as such will utilize SmartGlass* technology to enhance the feeling of immersion. Each vehicle will follow a track hidden from view from the riders, that also allows for the vehicle to respond to various story elements. The enclosed nature of the ride vehicle also allows for a sophisticated speaker set-up that further enhances the feeling of immersion.

* Just using the term as a catch-all, but a modified version of speculative technology such as this is what I mean...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gplbpAIjMq8&noredirect=1

** I'm not overly familiar with the various names associated with ride technology types, so I'm attempting to be as detailed as possible as it concerns the technology. The types of vehicles I'd utilize for this ride run along a track but can rotate 360* in one spot, and can rotate on its axis (to simulate the ride vehicle being knocked around or running into other objects), just for clarification purposes.

An example of the ride vehicles:

http://tinyurl.com/lqcyw7t

Facade - As the ride takes place primarily underground, and doesn't take up all that much space in actuality (due to the fact that motion is often simulated through the use of the SmartGlass technology and various screens located throughout the ride building), the facade is not particularly large. As the picture below shows, the queue would be in this shady back area of Dinotopia known as Pilosaur Lagoon, with the queue building being designed as a ship repair bay that sits over the water among the docks. There are various other elements to this small sub-section of the park that fill out the facade, as well, including a restaurant and a simulated lagoon (only a few feet deep where necessary, less than a foot everywhere else, and not very large) where every now and then a visitor may see something break the surface for a split second. The backdrop of this lagoon is a simulated, forced perspective mountain range that helps maintain sight lines throughout this section of the park. Also, in the second stories of some of the building, a few of the windows occasionally show the prehistoric denizens (1***) within going about their daily lives utilizing SmartGlass technology to create the illusion of depth (and everything else, essentially), though there are a few practical immersion elements scattered about as well, and the themeing is ever present.

An example of the facade and queue area:

http://tinyurl.com/pynzapq

*** A list of the dinosaurs and prehistoric reptiles shown in this area will be provided at the end of the description. The number will correspond with their appearance.

Queue - As I said, the queue itself first winds through a few back-alleys of Pilosaur Lagoon before entering the ship repair bay, where visitors enter their "...mostly fixed..." ride vehicle. As immersion is a key aspect of the park, in general, there are various details scattered throughout the queue area (and the sub-land, as a whole). The smell of fresh fish and salt water is simulated in the air, and the sounds of sea birds (and other creatures of the decidedly more extinct variety) can be heard throughout the area. As the riders are loaded into their vehicles, they are then lowered into the water (it looks as if the 'machines' holding the vehicle in place are lowering the ride vehicle, when it's actually all happening below) by animatronic humans and dinosaurs (2). The loading area itself is completely separated from the rest of the queue area; only the number of passengers boarding the ride are permitted in at a time. The opening of the repair bay looks out over the simulated lagoon to create the illusion that the ride vehicles will actually submerge.

Pre-Show - The workers in the bay tell the riders that "Dr. Denison" 'never came back, and neither will they'. One then adds, "Though Crabb might..." As the vehicle is being 'submerged' it is actually being positioned onto its track where it will enter the main ride building, which is located under the faux-lagoon. As the top closes on the ride vehicle, an consistent image is displayed that shows a marine reptile (3) pulling the ride submersible 'under the water'. The motion is simulated through the movement of the vehicle, the images displayed on the cover of said vehicle, and the sound effects. After a short travel time, the claws from the ride vehicle (which are just images displayed on the glass cover; not a practical element) disengage the creature, and the submersible enters a small underwater cave at the bottom of the lagoon.

An rough visual example of the pre-show element from third-person perspective:

http://tinyurl.com/p3hrmke

Main Ride:

Scene 1 - The first practical element of the ride is a rock formation designed to look both frightening and comforting (taken directly from the source material, "Dinotopia: The World Beneath") when seen from different angles and with different lighting (both of which will be highlighted). A spot-light on the ride vehicle is the only illumination at this point, and the rock formation slowly fades into focus before the vehicle passes it and begins to move up as the rider sees a literal light at the end of the tunnel.

An example of the rock formation:

http://tinyurl.com/mloq6ja

Scene 2 - The ride vehicle, in conjunction with the ride cover, simulate a breach from below the water level, and the riders enter a vast underground chamber where carved structures exist among massive stalactites and stalagmites that stretch from the ceiling of the cavern the the ground level (all forced perspective with backgrounds that look as if they stretch on and on), and where the riders float through as the lights oscillate a variety of colors.

Visual example: http://tinyurl.com/peuarz4

Scene 3 - After turning a corner, the riders find themselves in a smaller, more enclosed area similar in visual style to the one they just left. Here they meet Arthur Denison, Oriana, and Bix (4). They explain that they were searching for proof of The World Beneath, and discovered that the ancient people of Dinotopia had access to technology far beyond anything found in Dinotopia currently, and they believe the power to activate these "strutters", as they're called, can only be found here. Arthur and Bix believe that the people of Dinotopia could greatly benefit from the understanding of the earlier days of their civilization, but Oriana isn't so sure...

The main characters (audio animatronics) of the ride:

http://tinyurl.com/l6xgfhl

Scene 4 - The ride vehicle continues on into another smaller cavern, however this one is filled with a number of strange, bio-luminescent plants, shimmering and glowing. There are a large number of strange, glowing stones in this area, as well. The vehicle stops momentarily, as the the glow from the rocks forms an image to show the riders a vision of Dinotopia in the past, the bustling streets filled with people, prehistoric creatures, and the machines known as "strutters". Hologram technology is utilized to show the riders this scene from the past, while narration tells the story itself.

An example of a "strutter":

http://tinyurl.com/l6xgfhl

Scene 5 - As the vehicle takes another turn, the riders enter another small cavern where Bix tells the riders that she remembers a story about a terrible war fought long ago, between man and machine. Oriana says that they should never have come here, but Arthur insists that - in the right hands - these inventions could benefit those on the surface. Oriana makes a point to note the "in the right hands" part of the statement. The cover closes, and the vehicle 'submerges' into another underground cavern.

Scene 6 - While the ride vehicle is 'traveling' through the massive cavern, a huge creature (5) can be faintly viewed from far ahead in the dark waters. The creature is simulated using the SmartGlass technology, like many of the effects during the ride, but the vehicle moves as if the water has been disturbed by a giant animal. The ride vehicle then heads through another smaller tunnel before again 'breaching' the surface.

Scene 7 - The cover opens and the rider finds themselves in a huge cavern, with statues (similar to those found in Egypt in style) of ceratopsians and massive pillars leading to a set of huge double doors (forced perspective heavily utilized). There are carefully placed scaled audio animatronics of Arthur, Bix, and Oriana - who comment on the grandeur of the location - to help reinforce the size perspective. The ride vehicle approaches the doors, which open of their own accord, sending the riders into another large cavernous space...

A visual reference of the cavern:

http://tinyurl.com/k33l269

Scene 8 - The riders enter another large space, similar in visual style to the previous, where the remains of many strutters line either side of the 'waterway' (again, the illusion of water is created through the cover - the riders cannot see where the water would actually be, though the sounds and motions of the vehicle traveling through are re-created during the portions of the ride where the cover is lifted). One strutter in particular dominates the view. A strutter built to resemble a sea scorpion. At this point, an audio animatronic of Lee Crabb places one of the sunstones seen earlier into the machine, which roars to life. Crabb exclaims that he never wanted to be stuck on this island, and that with this technology he can finally leave. Crabb promises to come back with others and pillage the island of Dinotopia after he does so, in retribution for his 'forced imprisonment'. An animatronic Bix enters from the opposite side and tells the riders that Crabb must be stopped. The cover closes, and as the vehicle 'submerges', the SmartGlass creates an image of Crabb piloting the massive sea scorpion as it plunges into the water, as well. The chase is on.

A visual example of the sea scorpion strutter (on land):

http://tinyurl.com/ls6gh7y

Scene 9 - The illusion is created that our vehicle is chasing the sea scorpion strutter. The sea scorpion attempts to slow the ride vehicle down by using its claws to pull down a pillar of rock, which the ride vehicle just barely dodges (though the sensation of impact is felt). The chase continues, all through simulation in what essentially amounts to a dark room, until the large creature from earlier grabs the strutter Crabb is driving in his jaws and attempting to pull it down into the depths. The ride vehicle then jams into the creature, freeing Crabb, causing the creature to turn its attention to the riders. After a harrowing sequence where the ride vehicle is almost swallowed by the giant prehistoric fish, the vehicle 'speeds' to the surface and breaches the water.

Scene 10 - Inside another small underground cavern, the ride vehicle stops once more in an area visually similar to the previous hologram scene, and a vision showing the great battle described earlier, and how these machines were eventually left to be forgotten to help maintain the balance between humans and the prehistoric animals of Dinotopia.****

**** It should be noted that both of these sequences are narrated off-screen by Bix, in the form of her story.

Scene 11 - The vehicle 'submerges' again, and travels back to the surface. Along the way, a number of the large marine reptiles that assisted in dragging our ride vehicle into the depths can be seen swimming in the lagoon through the cover of the vehicle...

Scene 12 - ...before coming back to the surface where it travels through an unreachable segment of the town of Pilosaur Lagoon, where Arthur, Bix, and Oriana have Crabb tied up on the docks looking none-too-happy as a pair of police dinosaurs (6) stand over him and other citizens laugh. The three of them thank the riders for their help, and relay the message about harmony between humanity and nature (I'm no screen writer, obviously, so I won't be attempting to do so myself).

Post-Show - The riders exit the ride vehicle into a specific exit staging area. The vehicle then travels back through a hidden part of the circuit and into the loading area once again.***** The ride itself exits to a small retail location that sells merchandise specifically tailored to this ride experience and area of the park (as mostly all retail and restaurant locations do throughout the park). There are items such as specially designed fishing poles and accessories, scale models of the verious strutter machines, and other similar items. The dining facility in this area focuses specifically on sea food, appropriately enough.

***** Again, I'm no expert when it comes to the terminology, so hopefully I'm being clear enough that I can at least be understood.

Side-note: I'd envision the attraction having a near constant soundtrack, in addition to the sound effects, despite the fact that the music source would be non-dietetic. For this ride in particular, I'd like something similar to this work by composer Ramin Djawadai:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t987p0f9y54

Hope someone (anyone!) enjoyed the attraction. Again, sorry if I'm already too late, but I didn't want to waste the work I had put in and figured it was worth submitting here anyway.

Dr. Mary Agana's Ride of HorrorsUniversal has decided to bring back legend Dr. Mary Agana for a very scary Sally Corporation dark ride. In this ride Dr. Mary Agana will be storytelling, this ride will include five scenes.

Ride Kind: This ride will just be a "ride through" attraction with several LED screens where Mary will talk to you. There will be several smells of blood and perfume. You'll also be able to feel water, wind and fire when Mary gets angry.

Queue: As you enter the queue you will enter into the horrifying, insane and creepy world of Bloody Mary (aka Dr. Mary Agana.) There are mirrors everywhere and in every one you hear her voice booming, "I'M GOING TO GET YOU"! As you enter your cart trembling with fear, get ready to SCREAM!

Scene 1: I'm Dr. Mary Agana, In 1958, I was a psychiatrist who had my own special therapy called "immersive fear therapy. The NAMH did not approve of my method but I opened my facility anyway. I treated and killed most of my patients, very bad don't you think? Oh no not for me, you see I feed on pain, fear and my own desire to feel like the queen of the castle. I am going to be showing you my world soon, are you EXCITED?

Scene 2: You're in my world now, do you like what you see? I know you don't, I can feel your fear trickling in your veins. Let me show you why this world is so great. You see when you enter my world, your human life form goes away. That is because I take your body and suck all the fear out, when you least expect it! Lets go deeper into my world, shall we?

Scene 3: Lets look at my patients shall we? Everyone was killed by their worst fear, which I loved. Example: Dr. Christian was killed when I drilled a hole through his back to "help" him get over his fear of cadavers and operations. Did you know that you have become of my "patients in my world?" You may never come out of my world, but we can keep each other company FOREVER!

Scene 4: You see I created this world for myself because after I died I needed some place to go right? I couldn't go to heaven and hell was too lame, so I decided to create my beautiful mirror world. You see for years my spirit had been living in the mirror, but I had to be reincarnated to come into this world. I was and here we are now? Are you ready to conclude your journey?

Scene 5: You know how they say "save the best for last" well I did! Everyone look to your right, as you look to your right all of my human rage will begin to pour into you. Wind, fire and water start pouring out like crazy, your cart jerks to your left to see Mary putting on perfume and as you see her do that you start to finally smell her bloody clothes. A few seconds later a nasty smelling perfume starts to invade your nose. Mary's face comes up on the screen and she says GET OUT OF MY WORLD! You are a very brave human being, aren't you? Well we'll see about that NEXT TIME YOU COME AROUND!THE END

Backstory: Mystic Island, located in the northern reaches of the Great Lakes, is hidden from all who are not granted access by its solitary guardian. This guardian is a dragon, but he is not of the same order as the others. As a direct descendant of the mythic dragons that lived millennia ago, he has the gift of incredibly long life. He was there on the day the first of the Mythrrium dragons arrived on Earth, and along with his brethren is responsible for all that has happened since. Little is known about him, but two things are certain: he is a master of the magical arts and his name is Raijin.

Theme: At Smaug's request, Raijin has agreed to give visitors a demonstration of the feats of magic that dragons are capable of. However, to do so, they must visit his home, an old two-story wooden shack on Mystic Island, as the demonstration would be too dangerous to perform elsewhere. The shack is clearly visible from most locations on the island, as it is located high on a hill.

Queue: As Raijin's shack is located on a hill, the queue for the attraction winds its way up the hillside toward the structure. Strange foliage grows on the island, which serves the function of making guests feel as if they are in a different world and provides shade for those in the queue. When guests near the shack, they cross a flat section of land littered with historical artifacts, most of which are familiar objects even if they may no longer be in common use. The queue winds around these artifacts, then heads to the front of the shack. Guests then ascend the stairs to the front porch and enter the building.

Entrance Room: The inside of the shack is larger than it appears from the outside. Guests find themselves in a relatively plain wood-paneled room with a high ceiling. Instead of electric lights, unusual lanterns line the walls, casting an orange glow over everything. The room is not rectangular, but is shaped more like a pentagon, with two large doors at the far end. A balcony runs across above the doors, on which a welcome banner is hung. Once the room has filled, a voice is heard welcoming visitors and asking them to proceed inside. As the message ends, one of the two doors slides open, allowing guests to proceed to the preshow.

Drawing Room: The drawing room is rectangular, and has the same wood paneling and unusual lanterns as the entrance room. The floor features two different wood patterns, one in the center and a second around the edge. All the furniture has been placed against the walls. As guests enter the room, Raijin, a white and red dragon with some wolf-like features, stands on a second story balcony. Despite his age, he doesn't appear old in any way other than requiring a cane. He introduces himself to the visitors and talks to them while the room fills. Once the room is full, Raijin waves his hand and the doors slide shut.

Preshow: Raijin begins to tell the guests about magic, giving a very complicated description of what it is and how it works. However, before long he stops and decides it would be more effective to just show it instead. He waves his hands and strange symbols appear on the walls. Raijin explains that they are the elemental symbols of magic, then asks everyone to step away from the walls for their own safety. Suddenly, the entire room begins to glow, getting brighter and brighter before all the lights go out and everything is plunged into darkness.

When the lanterns come back on, guests are standing in a long cave. There is no sign of the living room. Little is present in the cave other than some damaged weapons from long ago. Raijin stands on a raised section at the back of the cave, next to a toppled throne. He beckons guests forward and tells them that this is where the demonstration is to occur, as it contains a high concentration of natural magical energy. Raijin glows, and then vanishes. At the same time, a section of the wall slides open, allowing guests to proceed to the loading area.

Loading Area: The loading area is another chamber in the cave, and it contains a gigantic machine. Raijin stands at the control console. He informs visitors that it is a magic suppressor of his own invention, which will protect visitors from unexpected magical effects. However, for it to work, visitors must be connected. At the base of the machine, a continuous stream of omnimover-style vehicles, each decorated with a glowing antenna, parades past. Raijin instructs visitors to board two or three to a capsule. Once seated, the lapbar closes immediately and riders proceed into the first scene. During the ride, Raijin narrates the adventure through in-vehicle narration except for the scenes in which he is physically present (written verbatim in italics here).

Scene 1: Tunnel of Symbols

The vehicles move through a dark stone tunnel. Glowing symbols line the walls. There are seventeen unique symbols, but many are duplicated.

“Until recently, our magical abilities had no uniform classifications. However, when the Mythrrium dragons began to arrive and our numbers grew, a uniform classification was needed. These symbols represent the seventeen elements of magic, and can be combined to describe any power we possess.”

Scene 2: Castle Mural

Riders emerge from the tunnel to see a large moving mural covering the wall. The mural depicts a medieval castle under attack by a flying, fire-breathing dragon, a scene typical of fantasy stories.

“Not all of our powers are magic in nature. Fire breathing, our most well known power, for example, is a mere chemical reaction that can only be performed by fire dragons.”

The vehicles continue past the mural, where a model of a dragon skeleton hovers.

“At the same time, some of our magic is due to innate properties and is not under our control. We couldn’t remain airborne without these properties, and we would be much weaker and slower.”

The vehicles rotate around to face…

Scene 3: Hover Chamber

A large chamber full of floating rocks. They move in unique, seemingly random patterns utilizing all three dimensions of space. Everything in this room emits a dim glow.

“In certain places of the world, magic manifests itself in a natural, uncontrolled form. Only those who can manipulate magic are safe here, as random energy fluctuations can turn a benign display into a lethal affair.”

Riders continue from the corridor into another tunnel.

Scene 4: Tunnel of Technology

This tunnel contains a number of human-made devices, schematics, and concept drawings, as well as some equations and theories. Everything present was once thought to be impossible.

“Magic is nothing more than the controlled manipulation of energy. It is possible to perform both great and terrible things with it. But while some may be beyond the limits of technology, none are in violation of the natural laws of physics.”

Riders move past a small alcove containing a number of strange artifacts, several of which look like weapons. Occasionally, one of them will become active, doing something before returning to an inert state.

“When several objects with inherent magical properties are in close contact with each other, they can influence each other in unusual ways. Sometimes, this can permanently alter the object’s characteristics.”

Riders leave the alcove and enter a large chamber.

Scene 6: Accuracy Chamber

Raijin stands in the center of the round chamber, not needing his cane when drawing upon magic. Targets float around in circles above him, sometimes moving directly above the ride path. Raijin demonstrates a variety of techniques to strike the targets with perfect accuracy, including arcing fire, water, electric, and light attacks. Raijin explains that any competent dragon can produce any type of attack, but it is much easier when it aligns with their natural elemental type. When riders complete a lap of the chamber, they exit into a long chamber.

Scene 7: Battlefield

Riders view a number of dragons engaging in all forms of magical combat. To an observer the battle appears as a constant exchange of energy blasts of varying makes and colors. The scene is viewed as if seen through a window, but it appears to be a physical scene.

“Although possible, magic combat is rare due to the immense drain the caster experiences. Using it on an unskilled opponent, however, will often yield an easy victory.”

Riders reach the end of the battlefield and turn away.

Scene 8: Storage Chamber

Riders enter another round chamber, this one filled with various objects. Raijin stands in the middle of the room, and by pointing at the various objects, they move, appear, vanish, or transform. Raijin states that there is nothing unusual about the objects; he is just manipulating the matter they are made of in various ways. Riders travel around to the far end of the chamber, then move through an opening.

Scene 9: Council Chamber

Riders move into the chamber in which the preshow took place. Raijin stands near the throne, once again with his cane, and tells visitors they are about to experience the most powerful magic of all. Riders then move into another tunnel.

Scene 10: Illusion

Riders pass a series of small scenes, all of which depict the lives of dragons. Many of the scenes feature cameo appearances by other characters. All of the scenes appear as if viewed through a window, giving the feeling that riders are looking into the lives of other dragons.

“Now it is only proper that I return you to Mystic Island, as there is little else I can show you. I hope you will remember what you have seen, or what you think you saw.”

Light swirls around the tunnel, then it resolves itself into the unload area located inside Raijin’s shack, with the same wood paneling and lanterns as the previous rooms.

Exit: Guests exit the unload area and walk through a small room where Raijin sits in a chair. He thanks guests for visiting and hopes they enjoyed their experience. Guests then exit the room, leaving the shack on the opposite side from where they entered. A short path returns them back to the base of the hill.

Statistics:

System: Omnimover-style attraction

Vehicles: A continuous line of capsules seating 2 adults or 3 children each on a single bench

Duration: The ride itself is approximately five minutes long, but the entire experience takes around 15 minutes. The preshow is three minutes long (measured from when the doors close).

Location: Located on Mystic Island (labeled Magic Island in the audition)

Enter the world of Sam Raimi’s original Evil Dead franchise as you and Ash (played by the legendary Bruce Campbell) take on the evil hordes of the Army of Darkness unleashed by the book known as the Necronomicon Ex Mortis. Ash is the reluctant hero of the Evil Dead movies known as much for his cowardice and bad attitude as his heroic derring-do. He always has his trusty shotgun in one hand and chainsaw affixed to the stump where his right hand used to be. This ride will use similar technology to Toy Story Midway Mania at the Disney parks but will also add in animatronic elements along with elemental effects.

The façade of the building is themed to S-MART, the WalMart style department store that Ash works at. As you enter the building the queue begins and you make your way through the store aisles. The shelves are a mess, lighting fixtures hang askew as they flicker and spark. Its obvious that something is very wrong here. Over the intercom you hear store announcements that are cut short by the announcer being attacked, breaking off into radio static to be replaced by inane elevator music.

The preshow starts as you enter the break room and are greeted by a 3D projection film of Ash (think the Tupac Shakur video that was big last year) who addresses the group.

“Oh great! What are you people doing here? Well hello Listen, we’re closed. You’ll have to buy your push-up bras and energy drinks or whatever the hell you low lifes want another time. We’re dealing with a Deadite invasion here. What? You’ve never heard of the Deadites? Well I’ll tell you what sweetie pie, they’re just like Care Bears, all soft and cuddly and wuv, wuv, wuv you……EXCEPT COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!! These are Deadites (he gestures to a TV monitor ahead showing clips of the creatures featured in the Evil Dead films) they are ugly, blood thirsty, wrath of God killers…and brother those are their GOOD qualities! These hell spawn will kill you dead if you don’t get them first. So this my friends (he holds up his sawed off shotgun) is my BOOMSTICK! Yessir this is a twelve-gauge double-barreled Remington. S-Mart's top of the line. You can find this in the sporting goods department. That's right, this sweet baby was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Retails for about a hundred and nine, ninety five. It's got a walnut stock, cobalt blue steel, and a hair trigger. That's right. Shop smart. Shop S-Mart. You got that? Now if you people want to survive I highly suggest you get moving out back jump in a car and get to Deadite blasting.” (After a moment or so) “Oh please, no rush…just hang back maybe enjoy a sip of tea and a crumpet,Mr Fancy pants!Go on…get…blow!”

You then out into a night time back alley scene where the loading area is, you are given a pair of protective goggles (3D glasses) and take a seat in your ride vehicle 2 in front and 2 in back with a sawed off shotgun mounted to the hood of the vehicle which is shaped like a mini 1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass (as seen in the movie). The seating configuration is once again like that of Toy Story Mania.

From this point you move past animatronic Deadites that lunge after your car and come to a stop in front of the first 3D movie shooting gallery scene. You receive points for all hits and the monsters on screen react to your shots, however if you aren’t fast enough or miss they jump out at you and your seat rumbles.

There are Four Scenes your car stops at for Deadite blasting fun.

1. A Confederacy of Deadites. In the alley behind the S-MART blast away at the undead as they creep out from under manhole covers, swing from light poles, throw boxes at you and jump out of trash bins. Being an outdoor scene prepare to feel the spray of light rain on your face and the stench of day old garbage.

At this point your vehicle moves away from the screens and towards an open vortex which is now sucking in an animatronic Ash. You hear him say

“ The Deadites have opened up a portal using the Necronomicon! AAAAAAAH!”

2. A Michigan Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. The knights of King Arthurs Court are battling Deadites and we are sucked into the fray as shields and arrows whiz by our heads. You’d better be quick to take out as many monsters as you can.

At the end of this scene we pass another animatronic of Ash looking in a mirror projected on a screen. The Ash in the mirror starts talking back and taunting him and then crashes to the floor, which leads us to our next scene.

3. A Thousand Little Ashes. We see that the mirror which smashed has dozens of 6 inch tall versions of Ash coming out of it, and they have evil intentions to make Ash and our lives miserable. They come at us tossing dinnerware at us, floating in at us on balloons all the while full size Ash in the background is being tormented by the little buggers.

The next scene brings us past an animatronic Ash who is being crawled upon by the tiny evil Ashes, with a couple of them holding open the Necronomicon ex Mortis and reading from it which opens up another vortex which sucks us into the next shooting gallery style room where a final army of the undead in a field of hellfire and lava await us.

4. Ash’s No Good, Rotten, Very Bad Day. An army of skeleton warriors in the style of a Ray Harryhausen movie descend on us with a Deadite King egging them on to attack us .They hurl spears, battle axes, rocks even their own skulls at us. Fire effects let loose and steam engulfs us as the battle between us and the Deadites comes to a crescendo.

We now round the corner into the final scene where an Animatronic Ash has the King of the Deadites tied to a tree. Ash menaces the fiend with his shotgun and chainsaw rigged arm and tells us.

“Hey, you screw heads didn’t do half bad in there. It looks like I…I mean WE got those Deadites on the run. Hail to the King Baby.”

Your vehicle then pulls into the unload area where your score for the ride is tabulated with rankings of

Guest enter the outside queue which resembles a small London neighborhood. Near the archway is a large sign placard that resembles an open book. The right side is the title / author / publication date page, while the left page gives a summary of the novel (for those not familiar with the story)

Once "inside the neighborhood", guest proceed to the line that leads a large ornate building, reminiscent of classic London. Here guest observe 2 strategically placed men (performers) debating rather loudly about an article in the newspaper, The Daily telegraph, which states it's possible to travel the globe in 80 days.

The performers will interact heavily will the guest in line ("By show of hands who believes it's possible.....these people are clearly not scholars!")

Once inside the guest travel toward the loading area & pass through the reform club, where our main character, Fogg has made a bet that he will travel around the world in 80 days. The other members of the club agree to the bet, but state that he must take witnesses to verify this trip (which happen to be the guest waiting in line) Fogg agrees & lets his valet, Jean, be the guide for all the "witnesses" taking the journey.

Guest then arrive at the loading area & board the Enhanced Motion Vehicles (similar to Indiana Jone & Dinosaur). The vehicles seat 16 (4 rows of 4), but guest only board the first 3 rows.

Once inside & as the attendant checks the safety strap, they warn riders to be wary of bank robbers, there's a chance one may have stowed away on board.

The vehicle leaves the loading station as a grand score begins playing.

Scene 1: India - The vehicles enter the first scene which is the city of Bombay in India. Large hi-tech animatronic elephants & merchants abound. The busy scene is soon disrupted by a loud scream.

Scene 2: The next room is set up similar to Mystery Lodge (Knotts) or the Haunted Manion (Illusion based scene) and we see a woman screaming and about to be sacrificed. The audio of Jean is heard telling the riders to sit tight & he'll go help her. The vehicle stops & the short scene is seen as the woman is rescued. Moments later, a live performer (dressed exactly like the woman audiences just saw) runs out & sits in the (previously empty) back seat. She introduces herself (Aouda), thanks everyone & the ride continues.

Scene 3: Hong Kong - The scene takes riders through a busy Hong Kong, where the authorities are looking for a bank robber. The vehicles begin to slow down (but keep moving) so the authorities can survey the riders as potential suspects. The live performer in the back instructs guest to follow her lead. (Asking everyone to speak loudly in a British dialect denying any knowledge of the robbery). When the authorities state those accent sound awfully funny, the vehicle "speeds up" to get anyway & proceeds to the next room.

Scene 3: News From The World - This room contains a "flat world" with screens showing news paper headlines. These headlines include story aspects such as "Fogg Arrested But Escapes" "Suspects Seen With Tourist in Shanghai" The woman in back explains "We made the papers, how exciting!"

This room ends with digital sign displaying dashes & a red X, dictating they are traveling across the sea (like bugs bunny looking for a treasure map style)

Scene 4: San Francisco - Scenes of the the city are seen as the audio of Jean tells the riders "we'd better hurry, we're running out of time"

At this point the vehicles begin moving rapidly through the attraction (this could be considered the thrill aspect of the ride)

Scene 5: Snow - The ride goes through an elaborate snowy scene over the plains of America. This room is cold, windy & filled with tons of "snow" (the snow is the foam sud style used during Christmas at the Disney parks)

Scene 6 - The bridge - The vehicle travels across an old bridge that almost "collapses" as the vehicle tilts & turns. Aouda urges guest to toss out anything that might be weighing the vehicle down...."maybe the person next to you?"

Scene 7 - New York - The vehicles pass through NYC as Jean tells the guest they must get to the port before the ship leaves for London.

Scene 8 - Wild Seas - This scene contains thunder & lighting effects as well as heavy mist. The vehicle rocks back & forth before finally continuing to the next room.

Scene 9- The vehicles circle around a huge "globe" in the center of the room. The screens on the outer area contain "post cards" of the different areas guest have visited. On top of the large globe is a clock. The hands on the clock move quickly around the face of the clock.

The End - Guest return to the the London loading area where Jean & the woman congratulate them & state that hopefully Fogg shares some of his "winnings" from the bet with you.

As guest exit the ride vehicles, the ride attendants say "Wow, you've been on this ride for 2 & a half months (i.e. 80 days)....maybe you should check out the rest of the park.

The exit que contains interesting facts such as:

"Bombay is no longer called Bombay, it's now called ________?

"Verne's original novel never included the famed balloon ride often associated with the story, etc.

"Who is widely considered the first person to have traveled around the world"

Further towards the actual exit, the answers would be supplied, with additional info.

I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.-Richard Feynman, 1964

Quantum mechanics posits many complex, counter-intuitive and downright bizarre effects that make life on the small-scale very different from our everyday experiences. Quantum: The Ride brings us all into the microscopic world and demonstrates five of these effects by putting the riders through some of the most famous experiments ever devised.

The ride is located in the Nano Valley section of the park in an abstract and colorful show building. The queue includes several stations where riders can observe the experiments featured in the ride either first-hand or via videos or simulations in the cases where that isn’t practical.

The first experiment encompasses the loading platform. A large atomic nucleus, constructed of glowing, pulsating spheres representing the individual protons and neutrons, dominates the room. It lies against a wall such that the view of the back half is obstructed. The track forms a ring around the nucleus with smaller yellow spheres representing electrons orbiting slowly around the nucleus. Upon closer inspection, the spheres are actually the ride vehicles with an opening on one side and a bench that seats three or four riders. Riders are instructed to enter their ‘electron’ ride vehicle via the rotating platform (rapids ride style), the attendant welcomes them to the ‘quantum world’ and the ride begins. The vehicle passes through the wall and into darkness save for the opposite side of the nucleus that appears to float in space due to a mirrored floor.

The vehicle continues on its circular path and the narration begins, “Electrons in orbit around the nucleus of an atom are stuck, unless they can overcome the binding energy. Particles of light, called photons, can supply this necessary energy...”

A point of red light (a bulb on a stick should suffice) quickly approaches the vehicle, vibrating up-and-down as it comes and bounces off harmlessly with a pathetic ‘plink’.

“...but only if a single photon carries at least that amount of energy...”

A barrage of lights and the noises of their deflections bombard the riders.

“...the electron will not budge.”

The bombardment stops.

“If, however, a single photon with an energy greater than the binding energy strikes the atom that energy can be transferred and the electron freed. This is called the photoelectric effect.”

A violet light, vibrating furiously, approaches the riders and strikes the vehicle with a crack and a flash of light. The vehicle changes direction and picks up speed as it escapes the pull of the nucleus and moves into the next room.

The Heisenberg room is brighter and foggy, with large molecule props stretching from floor to ceiling. Each one is distinct enough to act as a recognizable landmark.

“The Heisenberg uncertainty principle puts a limit to how much information can be known about a particle. If you precisely know the energy of a particle, you cannot know precisely when it has that energy. If you precisely know the momentum of a particle, you cannot know precisely where it is.”

The lights go out. The vehicle quickly rotates, changes direction and slows down before the lights come back on. This is done to give the impression of a sudden and unpredictable change in location and velocity. The trick is repeated several times using the molecules in the room to demonstrate the movement and disorient.

“In fact, quantum mechanics tells us that particles themselves can pop in and out of existence anywhere in the universe on short enough time scales.”

The lights go off and the vehicle stops before they come back on. The lights again go off, this time for several seconds. Suddenly a starfield appears projected around the room and the landmark molecules cannot be seen. The lighting flickers a few times between the starfield, the lit molecules and complete darkness a few times before the vehicle retreats from the room, passing through the door under darkness.

As the vehicle makes its way into the Schrodinger room, the narration continues. “While we cannot pinpoint a quantum particle, it is possible to calculate the probability of finding it in a particular location. One of the simplest calculations involves an electron confined by potential energy barriers; a particle in a box.”

At that, cables draw a square frame supporting a canvas to surround the vehicle on all sides. When the vehicle reaches the barrier it stops and reverses course, slows in the middle of the box, then accelerates again before reaching the other side and again reversing.

“In its ground state, the particle is most likely to be found in the middle of the box and less likely to be found towards the edges...”

Projected on the canvas is a simple graph of this statement; a line which rises from the floor at the corner of the box and then falls to meet the opposite corner.

“...it is as if the particle is smeared across the box, with more of it existing in the middle and less at the edges.”

The graph transitions to an image of the vehicle and riders, distorted to stretch from corner to corner and projected such that the image is taller and brighter in the middle of the box.

“Other patterns are also possible, if we add some energy to the system.”

The walls of the box glow red and the image on the wall begins to oscillate wildly, eventually settling into a sinusoid with two peaks, then three and more as the vehicle moves about the box more erratically.

“And even though classical physics forbids it...”

The vehicle passes quickly through the wall of the box.

“it is possible for the particle to tunnel straight through the barrier.”

At this point another vehicle pulls alongside and they both head towards another nucleus, similar to the one on the loading platform but smaller, with only four spheres.

“Electrons have many properties, one of which is called spin...”

The vehicles move into orbit around the nucleus.

“Electrons can have a spin of ‘up’...”

One vehicle starts spinning counterclockwise.

“or ‘down’.”

The other vehicle starts spinning clockwise.

“Since two electrons can’t exist in exactly the same state, the two electrons in this atom must spin in opposite directions. This is the exclusion principle from chemistry class. This is true even when the electrons are no longer part of the atom.”

The vehicles drift away from the nucleus and the spinning slows.

“The electrons are now entangled. If you make one spin ‘up’, say with a magnetic field, the other must spin ‘down’, and vice versa.”

One of the vehicles passes through an array of vertical laser beams representing the magnetic field and spins in the opposite direction at the original speed. The other vehicle also reverses its spin.

“No matter how far apart these entangled electrons are, they immediately know and mirror their partner’s spin. There’s a reason Einstein labeled the phenomenon as ‘spooky action at a distance’.”

The tracks move apart and the other vehicle passes through a ‘magnetic field’ reversing both vehicles’ spins.

The vehicles then move to the final experiment as yellow glowing spheres suspended from rods and representing more electrons collect around and drift with them.

“One of the most important lessons from quantum mechanics is that everything at the microscopic scale behaves as a wave. This is demonstrated by the double-slit experiment. Particles launched through a plate with two openings actually interfere with each other to produce diffraction patterns; just like ripples colliding in a pond.”

A large ring glows ahead and the electrons, ride vehicles included, race towards and through it. Two tall, bright openings appear beyond the ring and the electrons pass through one or the other. The extra spheres approach and recede from the ride vehicle as the path weaves along. On the far wall alternating bright and dark bands are painted, and the electrons all end up on one of the bright bands. The ride vehicles pass through the brightest band and into the unloading area where the riders exit into an area with more experimental displays, employees to answer any questions and a gift shop.

The quote at the beginning of this post will be displayed at both the entrance to the queue and the exit of the building. Even if the specifics of the featured experiments are quickly forgotten or never grasped in the first place, Quantum: The Ride can at least impart the message that the quantum world is truly different from our macroscopic view and welcome the riders into the club of those who truly understand that they do not understand quantum mechanics.

Christopher Sturniolo: The idea of making a "scarier" Disney ride both interests me and worries me. I thought the idea of making the ride stay true to the darker fairy tale was a nice touch, and it certainly differentiated the ride from other Fantasyland-esque attractions. However, I feel like it's not going to appeal to the family demographic that Disney is often noted for. The resembalance to Snow White was there, but I felt like it did enough to make it a unique experience as well.

Chad H: And I thought Christopher's pitch was dark! Your ride was really atmospheric and fit your theme really well, but the ride may be too dark for many people's tastes. I also found the very detailed backstory to be a bit of an issue. The plot of your ride, while interesting, took a lot of sharp turns and took a lot of concentration. For some, this will be intriguing, but others will find it a little confusing. The Doctor Who addition felt a little shoehorned in, but it fit the theme of the park nicely.

Alan Hiscutt: The Land Before Time is a good choice for a ride of this type of attraction. The movie (as well as the non-Lucasfilm sequels) is beloved with those who experienced it in their childhood, and it would no doubt appeal to children of this generation. The characters and storyline stayed true to the movie with spectacular fashion, right down to the dialogue. The number of people moved per hour was disappointing, but it's certainly not anything terrible.

Matt R: In all honesty, your proposal didn't feel as detailed as it could have been. It fit in to your theme really well, and the theming was superb (for some reason, I kept picturing the war scenes from Terminator 2, ha ha). The story felt a little muddled, and it didn't really pick up until the end of the ride. It was rather bleak, but it fits your park well.

Bryce McGibeny: The theming for this attraction was nice, and the ride system was a nice touch for this type of experience. The ride, while educational without being "boring," sort of lacked a major entertainment factor. The queue and pre-show had high expectations, but nothing too terribly exciting ever happened. A tour of the universe was fascinating, but some sort of exciting sequence would've helped make the ride more entertaining, while keeping the education factor. And for the record, sign Ellen McClain (voice actor for GLaDOS in the Portal video games) for the voice of the female at the beginning, and I will be pleased beyond imagine!

Mike Kinshella: Your proposal was certainly the most detailed of all the entries this week. The atmosphere of the adventure was very engaging throughout the long, entertaining journey. The storyline was rather deep, but was good 'ol fun. The effects were chilling and really added to the atmosphere, but I questioned a few of the technologies (how will you get this GIANT Animatronic to FLY?) All in all, a great proposal, and a fabulous addition to the park you established.

Dominick D: X-Men has a really cool history, and your ride covered on it in an interesting way. I had an issue with the Audio Animatronics, however. Animatronics are the right technology for this sort of demonstration, but it was disappointing that Professor X uses Animatronics as opposed to REAL mutants (all in the ride's story, of course). Due to the story, the ride was slow-paced, but Magneto certainly helped speed things up. I don't think this was the perfect idea for a dark ride, but it was a good addition to the park.

Karly Tenney: I see you brought in a franchise for your attraction this week, and that's very good. The story of Bloody Mary is a genuinely creepy one, and your ride matched the walkthrough experience from the previous Halloween Horror Nights (#18, I think.) However, I thought your proposal focused too much on Mary's dialogue, rather than what the riders will be seeing, smelling, and experiencing. It was a little hard to distinguish what was going on throughout the ride due to the lack of description, and it took away from the experience.

AJ Hummell: I thought the theming was really nice, and the atmosphere of a land inhabited by dragons was well thought out and put together. I found a few issues with the ride though, mainly in the storytelling department. Like the other "demonstration" rides submitted, the ride felt really slow paced. There wasn't much that kept me excited. The effects were cool, but it just wasn't enough to keep things exciting or interesting. I see what you were going for, but it certainly won't appeal to everyone.

Joseph Catlett: Your ride captured the essence of Army of Darkness PERFECTLY! As a big movie fan, I personally really enjoyed this idea. The technology was a good pick, and the 3D effects seem like they would work better than Animatronics, like in Men in Black. The ride mixed humor with some scares, just like the movie. The atmosphere was superb, and it will definitely appeal to the fans of this awesome cult classic. Fantastic job. Hail to the king indeed!

Jay R: I like how your ride stayed true to the original novel, as opposed to the less-faithful movie adaptations out there. Ocassionally, I wondered how well the audience interaction would work, but it was an interesting touch that would keep riders engaged. I liked the mix of live action scenes and the "flat" scenes, it really felt like a literary experience. I didn't get a huge sense of urgency, however. There just didn't seem to be anything driving the experience forward, keeping things exciting.

Joseph M: I thought the educational side of your proposal was a little complex. Obviously, quantum mechanics isn't easy to teach or learn, but it was rather difficult to understand everything that was taught. I may have got a bit of a summary, but I still felt confused afterwards. In the entertainment aspect, you did great though. The effects were nice, and the ride vehicles moving with the education was fun.